


Runaway

by I_Am_The_Circle



Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Blitz is a good listener, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Running Away
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-17 21:27:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9346571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Am_The_Circle/pseuds/I_Am_The_Circle
Summary: "Hearth..." Blitz started, unsure how to say it. Could you... Tell me about where you came from? Your parents? Hearth seemed to deflate a bit every time the sign parents was used, but he nodded slowly.You deserve to know, he signed. Trying to smile a bit, he added We're friends. Blitzen felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest as Hearth started the story.//A police officer asks Blitz if he's seen a runaway, and Hearth tells him the story of how he left home.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Me?? Writing an AU???? I'm as surprised as you are.
> 
> Anyway this little thought wouldn't leave my head, so enjoy, I guess.

"Hey, kid," came an authoritative-sounding voice from behind him, and Blitzen flinched. Turning around to face the voice, he felt his heart nearly stop at the sight of a uniformed police officer. Sure, Blitz wasn't doing anything illegal; he was just walking home from work, but as of late a black teenager didn't really have to be doing anything bad to be worried around a cop.

"Yes, officer?" He responded, trying to seem as non-threatening and respectable as possible, just a kid working a minimum wage job trying to get into design school. Maybe the fact that he was well-dressed would help his case. Thankfully the cop didn't seem dangerous but rather inquisitive.

"You know anything about a runaway kid around these parts?" Blitzen hoped the guy wasn't around here for him- he wasn't technically a runaway, as he still lived in his father's apartment, but he'd been living there alone for nearly a year after his father's death, avoiding the foster system. He was still about half a year from his eighteenth birthday, which meant he was supposed to be going to school and be supervised by a legal guardian, but did he count as a runaway? He didn't think so. Plus, what cop cared about a guardian-less kid in this neighborhood, anyway? This wasn't exactly an affluent part of town.

Blitz was shaken from his wonderings by a loud " _Well?_ " from the cop, and he was about halfway through stammering "No, sir," when he realized it wasn't true. Technically, he wasn't living in his apartment alone, and although he thought of his roommate as belonging there, the secretive kid must've come from somewhere. Hearthstone never talked about where he came from. (Well, he never talked at _all_ , but that wasn't the point.) Most likely, he was a runaway.

"You sure?" The cop was asking. "We've got reason to believe he's around here. His family's pretty worried. He'd be tall, blonde, silent...?" _Damn_ , Blitz thought. A perfect description of Hearth. He wondered why the cops were after him now, when he's been living here for the better part of a year, but pushed the thought away.

Trying not to look suspicious, he responded. "No, don't think I've seen him! Well, bye then, officer, sure has been nice seeing you!" Smooth, Blitzen.

Walking off quickly, Blitz cursed his less-than-par lying skills and resolved to ask Hearthstone what this was about.

Walking into the apartment and pulling his overcoat off a few minutes later, Blitz wandered into the living room and flicked the light switch for Hearth's attention. Said boy was sitting on the couch reading, but he looked up at the lights flickering. _Hi_ , he signed. _How was work?_

 _Fine_ , Blitz responded. _But I ran into a cop on the way home. Said he was looking for a runaway kid._ Hearthstone's eyes widened and his face seemed somehow even paler than usual. He stood unsteadily, but Blitz made a reassuring gesture as he walked over.

 _Don't worry. I wouldn't- I didn't tell him about you_. Hearth breathed a sigh of relief, and Blitz felt kind of sick at the thought that even after living together for months, Hearth still thought he might've turned him in.

 _He said... He said your parents were worried,_ Blitz continued, and somehow Hearthstone seemed frightened and bitterly amused at the same time.

_Worried I might cause them trouble is more like it._

"Hearth..." Blitz started, unsure how to say it. _Could you... Tell me about where you came from? Your parents?_ Hearth seemed to deflate a bit every time the sign _parents_ was used, but he nodded slowly.

 _You deserve to know_ , he signed. Trying to smile a bit, he added _We're friends_. Blitzen felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest as Hearth started the story.

 _Life was.... bad,_ was how he prefaced it. _My parents were rich and important. I grew up in a very wealthy suburb of Boston. They always expected perfection, and I didn't fit the mold. I was the disgrace, and my brother, A-N-D-I-R-O-N, was my parents' only hope. From the beginning, they hated my deafness. They hated me. But after Andiron died, everything got worse._ Hearth's pale hands shook a bit as he signed. Blitzen wished to take them in his own, hug Hearthstone, anything to get rid of the broken face he wore, but all he could do was listen.

 _We lived on the edge of the woods, and one day both I and Andiron were out playing. He was good. He liked me, he trusted me, but I failed him._ Hearth squeezed his eyes shut as if trying to not see the memory unfold. _I had my back turned. I couldn't hear it happen. Something attacked him- a bear, maybe. He didn't make it._ Hearthstone's light eyes were open again, near tears, and Blitzen felt frozen with helplessness.

 _  
After that, my parents blamed me. Said I should have died instead of him. They said I had to pay for his death. I could earn money to pay for his life with chores, but always more money lost than gained. Charged for food and free time. Always in debt. Always reminded I was broken and worthless compared to him_.

The first tear fell, and Blitz was paralyzed with conflicting feelings. Part of him wanted to reach out and wipe that tear away and hug Hearth until he smiled again, but the other part wanted to find Hearth's parents, wherever they were, and tear them limb from limb. He settled for gently reaching out and touching Hearth's shoulder. In response, Hearthstone gave him the tiniest smile, and Blitzen thought he could feel his heart breaking in two.

 _I spent years and years struggling to repay Andiron's life debt, but it was impossible. One day the verbal abuse got so bad, I just... Left. I couldn't take it anymore, all the rules and prices and blame. So I ran off and got hit by a car. I thought I was going to die, but you found me._ The tiny smile was back. _Turns out getting hit by that car was the luckiest thing that ever happened to me._

Blitz laughed a laugh that was almost a sob and surged forward to wrap his arms around the skinny boy. Hearth seemed shocked at first but then hugged him back with more force that Blitz had known he'd had. Blitzen was significantly shorter than Hearth, so his face was pressed into the taller boy's chest, and Hearth's chin was nestled into Blitz' shoulder. They stayed that way for a while as both pondered the luck that had brought them together. Hearthstone considered all the support and friendship Blitzen had given to him for free in the time they'd known each other. He'd taken him into his home for no reason at all, and they had become a real family. Blitz thought about how incredibly lucky he was to have found Hearth half-dead on the street, and to have earned his trust.

Eventually, they pulled away and smiled at each other tearfully. _You know they were so wrong about you, right?_ Blitz asked. _You're the best person I've ever met. The best friend I've ever had._ Hearth nearly giggled, and nodded. _You too_ , he signed, and reached out to take Blitzen's hand in his. Blitz gaped. He knew Hearth generally hated anyone touching his hands, because it impeded his speech, but here he was, holding hands with Hearthstone anyway. He realized why Hearth didn't mind one hand being occupied a second later. Hearth only needed one hand to sign I _love you_ , and neither needed to sign afterwards as they leaned in for a kiss, ever so gentle.

Blitz' heart felt like it was trying to beat out of his chest, but he was smiling into the kiss anyway. Hearthstone, who moments ago had been drowned in negative memories, now felt nothing but support and love in the gentle press of Blitz' hand at the back of his neck, the soft but deep kiss he was sharing with his best friend. When they broke apart, Blitz, smiling wide, pulled his hand out of Hearth's to sign, _No runaways live here. We're both home, exactly where we belong,_ and then Hearth couldn't help but grab his face and kiss him again.

**Author's Note:**

> Just me, fulfilling my duties as Local Blitzstone Dealer™, delivering that sweet Blitzstone fluff to my fellow sufferers of Blitzstone withdrawal. If that's you, hit me up at girl-of-ink on tumblr and scream about Blitzstone w/ me


End file.
